The Unlikely Imprint of the Villainess and the Male Lead - Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Translator: Yonnee
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It took a total of fourteen days to request and receive the new materials needed for her research.
Of course, it was thanks to this inconvenient method that she’d been able to conduct her research undetected so far, but two weeks still felt excruciatingly long.
Wasn’t there a way to catch two rabbits at once?
Perhaps it was her impatience, but Luciana couldn’t stand wasting so much time just waiting.
“As if the male lead’s arrogance wasn’t infuriating enough, popping up just when I’m about to forget him… ugh. I need to sever the imprint quickly or something.”
They say you inevitably fall in love once you’re imprinted, don’t they?
Not that she hoped for such a situation, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like a lie.
Every time something happened, he treated her like cargo, spoke in an utterly nasty manner, and—
“Just remembering his behavior during his rut cycle makes my blood boil…!”
Fuming at the thought of Richt’s conduct toward her, Luciana opened the lock on the delivery box.
“?”
Her expression shifted to one of bewilderment as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
She had expected the box to be full of magic candles, as usual, but… what was this?
‘Am I seeing things?’
The box, which looked more suited to holding an engagement ring, left her frozen in place as she stared at the bizarre and unwelcome item at its center.
‘I don’t recall ever requesting something like this.’
She gingerly picked up the case with stiff fingers, as though it were contaminated.
The cream-colored box, no larger than her palm, didn’t seem like it could possibly contain the magic candles she had ordered.
“No, wait. It could be from a supplier that prioritizes fancy packaging…?”
Convincing herself she might be overreacting, Luciana forced a smile and slowly opened the lid.
Gasp…!
This… had nothing to do with the materials she had ordered.
She swallowed dryly as her eyes fell on the blindingly radiant gem inside.
The gem shone with such brilliance that it was difficult even to touch it, exuding an aura so overwhelming it left her speechless.
“Is this… a mana stone?”
Surely he’s not going through another rut cycle already?
Although spring was only twenty days away, the biting chill of winter was still in the air.
Luciana, suspecting that the duke had sent her some kind of new artifact, tried channeling mana into it. However, the gem simply sparkled silently, refusing to absorb any energy.
“So, it’s just an ordinary gem?”
At that moment, a brief conversation with some noble ladies came to mind.
“Have you heard? There’s a new gemstone trending in the capital!”
“You mean the runet? I’ve heard it’s stunning, with two colors blending beautifully. Oh, I’d love to see it in person, even just once!”
“Could it be… the runet?”
A rare and elegant mineral said to be imported from the Kingdom of Ivnia.
Luciana had been too engrossed in her research to keep up with high society gossip, but she quickly recognized the gem from the descriptions.
“I heard it’s a blend of pink and gold, reminiscent of an autumn twilight. Don’t you think it would suit Lady Leslie’s ambiance perfectly?”
“Oh my, now that you mention it, it does seem like it would!”
She had heard plenty about the runet from ladies obsessed with gemstones during their discussions.
“At first, I didn’t understand when they said it resembled me, but the more I look at it… maybe they had a point.”
The faint streaks of gold running through the pink hue continuously drew her gaze.
Indeed, it was a gem of remarkable allure, befitting its reputation among the pickiest nobles.
Even though Luciana, as a marquis’s daughter, had encountered countless luxury items, the runet held a unique charm she had never felt before.
“Maybe it’s because it’s a gemstone that didn’t exist in my previous world.”
But idle musings weren’t important right now.
Luciana carefully set the runet back in its place with a complex expression. Her eyes remained filled with confusion.
Currently, the runet was so rare that people joked about nobles lining up just to get a single grain of it.
“And it’s not just any runet… the size, the quality…”
Even at a glance, the jewel was of exceptional grade.
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